The Compleat and Illustrated Tale of Zachary Tai
Thanks to the magic of smartphones, there have been a few updates to my LJ during the first few days, but not so much with the detail. I'm wordy, and it's kind of a pain to use the tiny keyboard for long entries. But there have been some pics already uploaded, which makes it easier to link to, as well as some others that I have by now. There will be plenty more in the future, no doubt, but this works well as an initial tale while my memory is fresh. :)
As I did when I wrote up my daughter's birth story, there will be lots of TMI sprinkled liberally throughout.
Just to backtrack slightly to give a bit of context: I hit 40 weeks as of January 17, my due date. Given that I carried Maddy for 40 weeks and 3 days (labor starting on day 2), I didn't expect to deliver early no matter how often people looked at me with googly eyes telling me I'd pop any day now. They were telling me that starting at about 36 weeks. That gets old fast, let me tell you, but I just smile and nod and act polite. Much less people randomly wanting to touch my "cute little belly" this time out, so I'll take what I can get. :)
Anywho, I still had patients scheduled on Monday and Tuesday, though it was markedly less intense than my usual workday. That let me actually do paperwork myself rather than punting it off to the nursing staff, and I did a fair bit of writing too. However, my entire Tuesday afternoon was free and I was bored out of my mind. As in, eventually I was too bored to even write. Not to mention, there was a definite heaviness settling into my pelvic region making it a little more difficult to walk or move around, and I started needing help to put on my snow boots. No joke. I could maybe get my feet into them on my own, but I sure couldn't tie them worth a damn. Sometimes I needed help with my socks, too. Wednesday I had nothing scheduled, so I did paperwork, I did my nails, typed a little bit and watched the first two episodes of Sherlock Series Two on my netbook. (I learned from Tuesday and came armed!) Since I adored that, I did hunt down episode three that evening.
My inlaws arrived Wednesday afternoon and saw me waddling around. I had a follow up appointment on Thursday morning, so I only spent three hours at work for signing scripts and whatnot. Then I went off to my appointment. Stats continued to be awesome in terms of what they track for my health and the baby's heartbeat, and my doctor was willing to leave the question of induction up to me. Though if I went into 41 weeks, she would induce, since statistically past that point there's higher incidence of conversion to C-section or issues with calcified placentas. I asked to talk it over with Jay, and she saw her next patient while I called home. The pros for an induction on Friday morning were that my doctor would be the one doing the whole thing and she was on call throughout the weekend. (and as it turned out, our pediatrician was also on call this weekend.) My inlaws would be in town to watch over Maddy and take her to day care while I was at the hospital, since I would need to check in at 6:30 am to get the show on the road. That was the real kicker, since they would only be around for a week, so we decided to schedule Friday morning.
I joke about my kids getting a double dose of stubborn. But I really think it's true!
I went home after my appointment and let the clinic know that they wouldn't see me Friday. Jay was still getting over a cold and napped a bit, my MIL was down in the basement watching a soap opera, I think, and my FIL and I were in the living room watching the History channel. He dozed off himself, then admitted he wasn't really watching the history of the Parthenon. So I loaded up the last ep of Sherlock on my netbook and settled in on the recliner. I'd been having trouble ALL DAY finding a good place to sit, since everything was uncomfortable, and I didn't parse my back pain right away. Even when there was a periodic increase in its intensity, though I did note approximately when it started. (Well, right before I loaded Sherlock, so that made it easy!) So a little before 3:30 pm that pain started; it wasn't until Jay woke up to go pick up Maddy that I mentioned the back pain. He asked if I thought that was a contraction or not; his mother was absolutely certain that it was. So she checked her watch while Jay picked up Maddy from day care, and by the time Jay came back, the time between more intense back pains (I rated it at 5 out of 10 at its most intense, and the rest of the time like the awkwardly uncomfortable cramping pains of a period) was down to about 5 minutes. It had only just gotten there, but Jay wanted to leave immediately for the hospital. We'd waited too long at home with Maddy, and he wanted to be sure I'd have my pain control and we'd be in a hospital for the birth and not doing things on our own.
Turns out we went to the opposite extreme this time out. The contractions were about 5 minutes apart, mostly in my lower back, but as long as I kept still, the monitors picked up the heart rate and the contraction profiles. They weren't super intense, were about 5-6 minutes apart and I was still only dilated the 3-4 cm from 11:30 am, closer to the 3 cm mark. I asked to walk around; given that the induction was supposed to happen in another 12 hours, they felt that there was no point in making me go home unless I really wanted to. We figured we'd stay, so we wound up ordering a small pizza delivered to the hospital for dinner, since the kitchen is only open from 6:45 am to 6 pm in the hospital.
I walked up and down the hall, around my room in circles, swayed a bit, knelt on the couch and generally made Jay feel nervous. I wasn't tracking how often the contractions were coming since it seemed silly. I was already in the hospital, and usually you want to track that to see when you're heading to the hospital. After about two hours of that, I started feeling more pressure in my pelvic region and figured maybe I had to go to the bathroom. Better to evacuate the bowels prior to birth, right? Only nothing really moved, even with pushing and waiting it out. When I finally gave up and wiped, there was stringy mucusy stuff. I checked with the nurse and she figured that was the mucus plug. A little more walking around the room and the nature of the contractions shifted to include the lower part of my belly, so she checked me out. I was at about 6 cm dilation then, -1 station. Not ready for much of anything at that point.
Jay's big question was the epidural. My contractions were still about 5 minutes apart, sometimes 3 minutes, and I was tolerate it. The anesthesiologist wasn't in house, however, and it could get wicked uncomfortable at any time, really. We figured we should probably call her in just to be sure, though the OB on call would have to check me out to be sure I was far enough along, since epidurals can slow down labor. The numbers were still the same (I didn't expect too much, since it was only 20 min later) but the contractions felt tighter. So he authorized the call to the anesthesiologist to arrive, and the nurses placed an IV to start running fluids before she arrived. They wound up sticking me three times before the IV worked, and then I got about a liter of Lactated Ringer's prior to the anesthesiologist's arrival. Jay waited outside of the room during the procedure (yay for not getting kicked off the unit) and only one stick was necessary. It was more of a numb feeling in my legs, and it gradually encompassed the entire roundness of my belly. The numbness gradually became more of insensibility, so that's when the catheter went in and when I needed help to move around in the bed. My blood pressure dropped twice, so epinephrine was necessary to get it back up. That led to some dizziness and worsening tired; I had joked it was past my bedtime anyway, and I was able to get some sleep intermittently over the next two hours.
The other problem with an epidural is that it can slow labor, right? Well, the contractions started lengthening out to between five and eight minutes and never sped back up again. The nurse contacted the OB on call, who discussed breaking the amniotic sac and using pitocin, both of which would've happened for an induction anyway. He broke the amniotic sac to see if that would kick start the contractions a bit. I napped again and eventually the nurse came back to tell me that nothing had changed on the monitor. The only difference was the wet gushy feeling every time I managed to shift my position on the bed. My blood pressures hadn't fallen again, though they remained on the lower end of things. So they started pitocin.
The pitocin definitely kickstarted things; my nurse returned an hour later to tell me that contractions were back to within 5 minutes again. She was going off shift at that point, as it was almost 6 am. My regular OB was also almost arriving at the hospital. I rang for the nurse soon after her shift began to complain that the epidural was starting to wear off. I hadn't needed to push the button for additional doses before that point, but now not only was I feeling each contraction, I could move my legs around. Because my doctor wasn't in house yet, the nurse checked me out. I was at least 9 cm along and there was just a little bit of lip left to the cervix. I was at zero station, so I just had to hang out a little bit longer and not push even though I was starting to get the urge to push and get this the hell over with. My doctor arrived soon after, while the nurse was starting to wheel in carts with stuff on them. She was actually glad to do a delivery rather than a scheduled C-section assist as initially planned, and her exam on me determined that the lip was gone and the main event was happening.
Holy shit, did that hurt. The epidural wasn't designed to block those kinds of pain fibers as my doctor was explaining, and I was actually crying from the pain. As contractions hit, I was urged to push and breathe through it. I was also making more noise than Monica Seles used to make when returning serves on a tennis court. I could feel the stretch and pressure from the head's descent, and there was no real getting around that. My doctor felt that he was getting caught around my pelvic bone, so she had the head of the bed dropped and I did an almost sit up like maneuver to try to push. That worked, however, and in three more pushes the head was out. I didn't even need to push to get the rest of the body out. It just slid right out and Zachary Tai was born at 7:13 am on Friday, January 20.
And he proceeded to pee on my OB and one of the assisting nurses. Whether it was just to prove there was nothing wrong with his kidney or to mark territory, I have no idea. This would turn out to be a recurring theme for the weekend.
Zach was then weighed and measured and cleaned up. Jay called his parents at our house as the doctor started stitching me up; it was then discovered I was pretty much at the end of the epidural syringe during the delivery. There was just enough left that I didn't feel the stitches at all. She hadn't thought she would need to stitch me up at all, but at the last minute I tore in the exact same spot as last time; she figures that the scar tissue couldn't stretch like the surrounding area and simply gave way. She didn't tell me how many stitches she needed to place, but it was another second degree tear with one or two smaller surface breaks that she put in a stitch to be sure it closed properly. She definitely spent more time delivering than stitching, which was a change from Maddy's birth.
He weighed in at just under 8 pounds 14 ounces, and was 21.5 inches long. At the time I thought this was Maddy's length, but it turns out Zach was taller as well as heavier than his sister. :)
Jay went home to shower and nap as preparations were made to get me into a room. The cord blood was saved as we requested, packaged off into the required kit. Later it turned out that the nurses couldn't call it in for me, so I did that once I woke up from my nap. Once I was settled into my room, Zach was whisked away so nurses could do their thing, and I slept for almost two hours. I was groggy once I woke, but managed to complete the call and order lunch. I had preemptively spoken to the lactation nurse, and didn't have any issues starting things out in the delivery room. I was amazed at how nothing hurt this time out, so I figured I could do this breastfeeding thing straight from the tap this time.
Smartphones mean there are pictures almost immediately to post to LJ and Facebook, so that gave me something to do during Zach's naps. Not to mention just take pictures because it made me happy to do so. :)
So here's one batch, and another batch and the last batch I posted while in the hospital. There are other pictures as well, from visits I had from Brenda, my inlaws, Jason and Maddy. Yes, it's hard not having family nearby, but my side never visited before anyway, so I was used to occupying myself. See the smartphone comment. :)
While in the hospital, I was determined to make the breastfeeding thing work. By Saturday evening, however, it was starting to get pretty damn painful. I'm sure it didn't help that Zach was practically gnawing on me and using me as a pacifier, but I stuck with it and grit my teeth against the pain. It was more pinching than needle sharp, and it did go away after a minute or so. Or until he started sucking really hard again. There was nothing wrong with his latch as far as I could tell or the nurses could tell, so I was assured that time would help the nipples toughen up a bit more.
This is the two of us in the hospital, hanging out together.
The four of us. :)
The nurses were pretty surprised by how quickly my uterus was starting to involute, as well as how little pain medication I actually needed. Motrin two or three times a day was generally good enough for me, with some additional Tylenol on the first day. I actually turned down the offer of Vicodin, since taking that when my wisdom teeth were pulled out resulted in nausea and vomiting. Not cool when trying to breastfeed, yanno? I did make use of the nurses' offers to watch over Zach so I could shower or take naps. They brought him back in the middle of the night for feedings, and sometimes rather than simply ring the call bell, I'd try to walk down to the nursing station to pick him up. As nice as my room was, hospital beds are still hospital beds. It's cramped and difficult to maneuver in and leads to sore muscles. Not that birth didn't add to the achiness, but still.
By the time I was ready to go home, I was definitely feeling much better physically. The pain in my breasts from a feeding was worse than my perineum, believe it or not, and the bleeding had slowed down considerably. I was apparently making faces on Sunday morning when Jay arrived in time to see me attempt more feedings. By Sunday afternoon, my right breast bled from a crack when I tried to pump. He had latched on only too well earlier, and I was still sore when he wanted to eat again. So we supplemented with formula when we got home from the hospital and I figured using a pump would help the soreness subside a bit. It was the same pump that had been in the basement for a while, and because it hurt so much I initially didn't notice any difference in it. I freaked out from seeing the blood in the pump shield, and the nurses on the Women and Children unit recommended that I skip that feed to let it heal and simply try again. However, by that evening I had hard lumpy knots in my breasts. Those didn't go away with the next few pumping sessions, and reading up on it I figured they were due to clogged ducts. Only continued feedings/pumping works to clear those, though warmth might help. I actually used a massager on my breasts, then Jay suggested the microwavable heating pad that I have, since that was easier to maneuver around each breast. That did help, which led me to discover Monday night there wasn't any gradation in the suction of the pump, only on or off.
Zach through all of my angsting had been eating and sleeping like a champ. Maddy showed interest in him right away, and she did really well holding him with supervision.
Tuesday was Zach's newborn well check visit. He was born 8 lbs 14 oz, discharged at 8 lbs 3.2 oz and at four days old was 8 lbs 8 oz. The supplementing was likely what helped him gain the weight back; we learned from Maddy that relying on colostrum and early milk supplies alone wouldn't be enough. I had a lot less angsting about that this time around, since I do plan on the majority of his intake being breast milk. My inlaws left Tuesday, and I tried to breastfeed directly that afternoon since the suction on my old pump didn't feel all that oomphy. Unfortunately, that meant my left breast cracked and bled. In other words, taking everything directly off the tap apparently doesn't work for me and my kids. :(
And the kicker to the feeding thing? Jay actually went off to get me a new pump, thinking there was something wrong with the suction on my old one. I use the new pump and it feels the same, only with more gradation in suction. He suggests trying the new tubing on the old pump and voila, it works exactly the way it should. ::facepalm:: I apparently need to find SOMETHING to be anxious about, right? If I try to find a positive spin for this, I guess I have a backup pump now that I can leave at work once I go back.
Zach is a cuddler already, and loves hanging out with me. He doesn't seem to mind being on his stomach (Maddy HATED THAT so hard, it's not funny) and has been trying to pick his head up to look around from day one. He eats a lot and sleeps a lot, and is a very deep sleeper. Which has allowed me to (off and on) write this up all evening tonight while my memory is fresh. Now I'm off to pump again, as well as check in on him since he's about due for another feeding.
Good night. :)
As I did when I wrote up my daughter's birth story, there will be lots of TMI sprinkled liberally throughout.
Just to backtrack slightly to give a bit of context: I hit 40 weeks as of January 17, my due date. Given that I carried Maddy for 40 weeks and 3 days (labor starting on day 2), I didn't expect to deliver early no matter how often people looked at me with googly eyes telling me I'd pop any day now. They were telling me that starting at about 36 weeks. That gets old fast, let me tell you, but I just smile and nod and act polite. Much less people randomly wanting to touch my "cute little belly" this time out, so I'll take what I can get. :)
Anywho, I still had patients scheduled on Monday and Tuesday, though it was markedly less intense than my usual workday. That let me actually do paperwork myself rather than punting it off to the nursing staff, and I did a fair bit of writing too. However, my entire Tuesday afternoon was free and I was bored out of my mind. As in, eventually I was too bored to even write. Not to mention, there was a definite heaviness settling into my pelvic region making it a little more difficult to walk or move around, and I started needing help to put on my snow boots. No joke. I could maybe get my feet into them on my own, but I sure couldn't tie them worth a damn. Sometimes I needed help with my socks, too. Wednesday I had nothing scheduled, so I did paperwork, I did my nails, typed a little bit and watched the first two episodes of Sherlock Series Two on my netbook. (I learned from Tuesday and came armed!) Since I adored that, I did hunt down episode three that evening.
My inlaws arrived Wednesday afternoon and saw me waddling around. I had a follow up appointment on Thursday morning, so I only spent three hours at work for signing scripts and whatnot. Then I went off to my appointment. Stats continued to be awesome in terms of what they track for my health and the baby's heartbeat, and my doctor was willing to leave the question of induction up to me. Though if I went into 41 weeks, she would induce, since statistically past that point there's higher incidence of conversion to C-section or issues with calcified placentas. I asked to talk it over with Jay, and she saw her next patient while I called home. The pros for an induction on Friday morning were that my doctor would be the one doing the whole thing and she was on call throughout the weekend. (and as it turned out, our pediatrician was also on call this weekend.) My inlaws would be in town to watch over Maddy and take her to day care while I was at the hospital, since I would need to check in at 6:30 am to get the show on the road. That was the real kicker, since they would only be around for a week, so we decided to schedule Friday morning.
I joke about my kids getting a double dose of stubborn. But I really think it's true!
I went home after my appointment and let the clinic know that they wouldn't see me Friday. Jay was still getting over a cold and napped a bit, my MIL was down in the basement watching a soap opera, I think, and my FIL and I were in the living room watching the History channel. He dozed off himself, then admitted he wasn't really watching the history of the Parthenon. So I loaded up the last ep of Sherlock on my netbook and settled in on the recliner. I'd been having trouble ALL DAY finding a good place to sit, since everything was uncomfortable, and I didn't parse my back pain right away. Even when there was a periodic increase in its intensity, though I did note approximately when it started. (Well, right before I loaded Sherlock, so that made it easy!) So a little before 3:30 pm that pain started; it wasn't until Jay woke up to go pick up Maddy that I mentioned the back pain. He asked if I thought that was a contraction or not; his mother was absolutely certain that it was. So she checked her watch while Jay picked up Maddy from day care, and by the time Jay came back, the time between more intense back pains (I rated it at 5 out of 10 at its most intense, and the rest of the time like the awkwardly uncomfortable cramping pains of a period) was down to about 5 minutes. It had only just gotten there, but Jay wanted to leave immediately for the hospital. We'd waited too long at home with Maddy, and he wanted to be sure I'd have my pain control and we'd be in a hospital for the birth and not doing things on our own.
Turns out we went to the opposite extreme this time out. The contractions were about 5 minutes apart, mostly in my lower back, but as long as I kept still, the monitors picked up the heart rate and the contraction profiles. They weren't super intense, were about 5-6 minutes apart and I was still only dilated the 3-4 cm from 11:30 am, closer to the 3 cm mark. I asked to walk around; given that the induction was supposed to happen in another 12 hours, they felt that there was no point in making me go home unless I really wanted to. We figured we'd stay, so we wound up ordering a small pizza delivered to the hospital for dinner, since the kitchen is only open from 6:45 am to 6 pm in the hospital.
I walked up and down the hall, around my room in circles, swayed a bit, knelt on the couch and generally made Jay feel nervous. I wasn't tracking how often the contractions were coming since it seemed silly. I was already in the hospital, and usually you want to track that to see when you're heading to the hospital. After about two hours of that, I started feeling more pressure in my pelvic region and figured maybe I had to go to the bathroom. Better to evacuate the bowels prior to birth, right? Only nothing really moved, even with pushing and waiting it out. When I finally gave up and wiped, there was stringy mucusy stuff. I checked with the nurse and she figured that was the mucus plug. A little more walking around the room and the nature of the contractions shifted to include the lower part of my belly, so she checked me out. I was at about 6 cm dilation then, -1 station. Not ready for much of anything at that point.
Jay's big question was the epidural. My contractions were still about 5 minutes apart, sometimes 3 minutes, and I was tolerate it. The anesthesiologist wasn't in house, however, and it could get wicked uncomfortable at any time, really. We figured we should probably call her in just to be sure, though the OB on call would have to check me out to be sure I was far enough along, since epidurals can slow down labor. The numbers were still the same (I didn't expect too much, since it was only 20 min later) but the contractions felt tighter. So he authorized the call to the anesthesiologist to arrive, and the nurses placed an IV to start running fluids before she arrived. They wound up sticking me three times before the IV worked, and then I got about a liter of Lactated Ringer's prior to the anesthesiologist's arrival. Jay waited outside of the room during the procedure (yay for not getting kicked off the unit) and only one stick was necessary. It was more of a numb feeling in my legs, and it gradually encompassed the entire roundness of my belly. The numbness gradually became more of insensibility, so that's when the catheter went in and when I needed help to move around in the bed. My blood pressure dropped twice, so epinephrine was necessary to get it back up. That led to some dizziness and worsening tired; I had joked it was past my bedtime anyway, and I was able to get some sleep intermittently over the next two hours.
The other problem with an epidural is that it can slow labor, right? Well, the contractions started lengthening out to between five and eight minutes and never sped back up again. The nurse contacted the OB on call, who discussed breaking the amniotic sac and using pitocin, both of which would've happened for an induction anyway. He broke the amniotic sac to see if that would kick start the contractions a bit. I napped again and eventually the nurse came back to tell me that nothing had changed on the monitor. The only difference was the wet gushy feeling every time I managed to shift my position on the bed. My blood pressures hadn't fallen again, though they remained on the lower end of things. So they started pitocin.
The pitocin definitely kickstarted things; my nurse returned an hour later to tell me that contractions were back to within 5 minutes again. She was going off shift at that point, as it was almost 6 am. My regular OB was also almost arriving at the hospital. I rang for the nurse soon after her shift began to complain that the epidural was starting to wear off. I hadn't needed to push the button for additional doses before that point, but now not only was I feeling each contraction, I could move my legs around. Because my doctor wasn't in house yet, the nurse checked me out. I was at least 9 cm along and there was just a little bit of lip left to the cervix. I was at zero station, so I just had to hang out a little bit longer and not push even though I was starting to get the urge to push and get this the hell over with. My doctor arrived soon after, while the nurse was starting to wheel in carts with stuff on them. She was actually glad to do a delivery rather than a scheduled C-section assist as initially planned, and her exam on me determined that the lip was gone and the main event was happening.
Holy shit, did that hurt. The epidural wasn't designed to block those kinds of pain fibers as my doctor was explaining, and I was actually crying from the pain. As contractions hit, I was urged to push and breathe through it. I was also making more noise than Monica Seles used to make when returning serves on a tennis court. I could feel the stretch and pressure from the head's descent, and there was no real getting around that. My doctor felt that he was getting caught around my pelvic bone, so she had the head of the bed dropped and I did an almost sit up like maneuver to try to push. That worked, however, and in three more pushes the head was out. I didn't even need to push to get the rest of the body out. It just slid right out and Zachary Tai was born at 7:13 am on Friday, January 20.
And he proceeded to pee on my OB and one of the assisting nurses. Whether it was just to prove there was nothing wrong with his kidney or to mark territory, I have no idea. This would turn out to be a recurring theme for the weekend.
Zach was then weighed and measured and cleaned up. Jay called his parents at our house as the doctor started stitching me up; it was then discovered I was pretty much at the end of the epidural syringe during the delivery. There was just enough left that I didn't feel the stitches at all. She hadn't thought she would need to stitch me up at all, but at the last minute I tore in the exact same spot as last time; she figures that the scar tissue couldn't stretch like the surrounding area and simply gave way. She didn't tell me how many stitches she needed to place, but it was another second degree tear with one or two smaller surface breaks that she put in a stitch to be sure it closed properly. She definitely spent more time delivering than stitching, which was a change from Maddy's birth.
He weighed in at just under 8 pounds 14 ounces, and was 21.5 inches long. At the time I thought this was Maddy's length, but it turns out Zach was taller as well as heavier than his sister. :)
Jay went home to shower and nap as preparations were made to get me into a room. The cord blood was saved as we requested, packaged off into the required kit. Later it turned out that the nurses couldn't call it in for me, so I did that once I woke up from my nap. Once I was settled into my room, Zach was whisked away so nurses could do their thing, and I slept for almost two hours. I was groggy once I woke, but managed to complete the call and order lunch. I had preemptively spoken to the lactation nurse, and didn't have any issues starting things out in the delivery room. I was amazed at how nothing hurt this time out, so I figured I could do this breastfeeding thing straight from the tap this time.
Smartphones mean there are pictures almost immediately to post to LJ and Facebook, so that gave me something to do during Zach's naps. Not to mention just take pictures because it made me happy to do so. :)
So here's one batch, and another batch and the last batch I posted while in the hospital. There are other pictures as well, from visits I had from Brenda, my inlaws, Jason and Maddy. Yes, it's hard not having family nearby, but my side never visited before anyway, so I was used to occupying myself. See the smartphone comment. :)
While in the hospital, I was determined to make the breastfeeding thing work. By Saturday evening, however, it was starting to get pretty damn painful. I'm sure it didn't help that Zach was practically gnawing on me and using me as a pacifier, but I stuck with it and grit my teeth against the pain. It was more pinching than needle sharp, and it did go away after a minute or so. Or until he started sucking really hard again. There was nothing wrong with his latch as far as I could tell or the nurses could tell, so I was assured that time would help the nipples toughen up a bit more.
This is the two of us in the hospital, hanging out together.
The four of us. :)
The nurses were pretty surprised by how quickly my uterus was starting to involute, as well as how little pain medication I actually needed. Motrin two or three times a day was generally good enough for me, with some additional Tylenol on the first day. I actually turned down the offer of Vicodin, since taking that when my wisdom teeth were pulled out resulted in nausea and vomiting. Not cool when trying to breastfeed, yanno? I did make use of the nurses' offers to watch over Zach so I could shower or take naps. They brought him back in the middle of the night for feedings, and sometimes rather than simply ring the call bell, I'd try to walk down to the nursing station to pick him up. As nice as my room was, hospital beds are still hospital beds. It's cramped and difficult to maneuver in and leads to sore muscles. Not that birth didn't add to the achiness, but still.
By the time I was ready to go home, I was definitely feeling much better physically. The pain in my breasts from a feeding was worse than my perineum, believe it or not, and the bleeding had slowed down considerably. I was apparently making faces on Sunday morning when Jay arrived in time to see me attempt more feedings. By Sunday afternoon, my right breast bled from a crack when I tried to pump. He had latched on only too well earlier, and I was still sore when he wanted to eat again. So we supplemented with formula when we got home from the hospital and I figured using a pump would help the soreness subside a bit. It was the same pump that had been in the basement for a while, and because it hurt so much I initially didn't notice any difference in it. I freaked out from seeing the blood in the pump shield, and the nurses on the Women and Children unit recommended that I skip that feed to let it heal and simply try again. However, by that evening I had hard lumpy knots in my breasts. Those didn't go away with the next few pumping sessions, and reading up on it I figured they were due to clogged ducts. Only continued feedings/pumping works to clear those, though warmth might help. I actually used a massager on my breasts, then Jay suggested the microwavable heating pad that I have, since that was easier to maneuver around each breast. That did help, which led me to discover Monday night there wasn't any gradation in the suction of the pump, only on or off.
Zach through all of my angsting had been eating and sleeping like a champ. Maddy showed interest in him right away, and she did really well holding him with supervision.
Tuesday was Zach's newborn well check visit. He was born 8 lbs 14 oz, discharged at 8 lbs 3.2 oz and at four days old was 8 lbs 8 oz. The supplementing was likely what helped him gain the weight back; we learned from Maddy that relying on colostrum and early milk supplies alone wouldn't be enough. I had a lot less angsting about that this time around, since I do plan on the majority of his intake being breast milk. My inlaws left Tuesday, and I tried to breastfeed directly that afternoon since the suction on my old pump didn't feel all that oomphy. Unfortunately, that meant my left breast cracked and bled. In other words, taking everything directly off the tap apparently doesn't work for me and my kids. :(
And the kicker to the feeding thing? Jay actually went off to get me a new pump, thinking there was something wrong with the suction on my old one. I use the new pump and it feels the same, only with more gradation in suction. He suggests trying the new tubing on the old pump and voila, it works exactly the way it should. ::facepalm:: I apparently need to find SOMETHING to be anxious about, right? If I try to find a positive spin for this, I guess I have a backup pump now that I can leave at work once I go back.
Zach is a cuddler already, and loves hanging out with me. He doesn't seem to mind being on his stomach (Maddy HATED THAT so hard, it's not funny) and has been trying to pick his head up to look around from day one. He eats a lot and sleeps a lot, and is a very deep sleeper. Which has allowed me to (off and on) write this up all evening tonight while my memory is fresh. Now I'm off to pump again, as well as check in on him since he's about due for another feeding.
Good night. :)